Some great advice in here.Ironically, I did my first ground landing today and had to abort and revert to catching.
It was on soft grass and I noticed the phantom tipping fwd as the props was slowing down. I hard throttled up and hand caught instead. I'll try your method next time..
And I suggest the following..
Practice hand catching using prop guards - take them off when you are ready as the prop guards can cause erratic flight.
Catch in an open space, clear of people, animals, obstacles.
Watch your footing - staires/rocks uneven surfaces etc.
Make sure all switches are up
Make sure you have a lanyard around your neck to free up your right arm.
Have wind coming from behind you and have the phantom in front of you. If there is a gust of wind, it will move the phantom away from you and not give you a new hair cut.
Get the phantom at arms reach above your head and NOT at eye level.
Spin the phantom so you can see the back of the battery - this helps orienteering if you decide reposition the phantom or evade safely if there is an issue.
Lower to above head height and capture with right arm and use left arm to down throttle.
If done correct, the benefits outweigh landing.
Props aren't cheap - Using down throttle prevents the notorious CSC tip overs...
Camera aint cheap - inertia whiplash bounce landing cause tilt in the Vision plus camera.
Kids and dogs don't get damaged - I rather loose my own fingers than to hurt someone else.
You can now catch on boats.
Stay safe.
Then I read about all the problems with ESCs burning out when the motors stop suddenly
Cool, make some videos so I can learn how it's supposed to be done.
No sarcasm, no joke.
FYI, stalling the motors has no adverse effect on the esc's or anything else.
To old to run a lap but after ya do it a few times you will like it a lot better !! JMHOThose of you who are promoting hand catching your drone can now take a victory lap. Yesterday in gusty wind with the battery warning blaring, I hand caught my P2V+ for the first time. I had no trouble at all. While I still prefer to land on the rug I will now be using the hand catch technique if I feel a ground landing is unsafe. I have a neck strap for the controller which makes the procedure a lot easier.
Just make sure when you do get ahold to it you hold it steady while you shut it off !!!!Hi all. Noob phantomer. I've flown a few times.. totalling not more than 15mins. The hand catching technique is easy to learn and works well. (Hover..grab a leg..hold on..shut down remote)
Welcome to the forum CPantomJust for the record, I never have, nor do I plan on landing my Phantom. The only quad I don't catch, is the CX-10. Did you guys know that thing is so small, it fit in the battery bay?
Thanks Dirk. Glad to be on board.Welcome to the forum CPantom
And now it's on record
Well we glad to have ya and take a look around our new board and I think ya will find all you need to in here !! If ya don't...Just ask !Thanks Dirk. Glad to be on board.
You are welcome to your opinion. I beg to differ.Hand catching is a very bad idea
'Hand catching is...'? its only an 'is' for you, please dont assume it is an 'is' for others.Hand catching is a very bad idea and should only be done in emergency situations, such as stopping it from flying into a bystander.
I have found two reasons for landing "flops".
One cause is ground-effect, which is common to all aircraft. The solution is to pause about 3 feet above the intended landing spot and descend slowly, optimally at a slight angle.
A second cause is from pulling both sticks to the center as in take off. Instead push just the left lever to the lower right corner and hold it there until the motors shut down. Then you can move the right lever to the lower left if you need to to complete the shut down.
A common door mat can be used as a landing pad, but I have found the HELIPAD from UAVBITS.NET solves several problems. It's more portable than a rug, the perforations in the deck seem to reduce ground effect turbulence/View attachment 16680 View attachment 16681 reflections and the elevated platform provides protection from grass, sand and flying debris.
For more tips and useful information check out my Ebook on Amazon.com - Droner's Guide.
IMHO and being a newbie with only about 20 flights.. Prop guards are great and landing on hard surfaces just like hand catching takes practice. Me i've been a mechanic for over 40 years and i was givin great advice as a young lad... Never put your fingers anywhere near moving things!
Again just my opinion. Learn to land..practice and be patient!